I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander-Chapter 206

Lucy, having sent Daniel away, rose to her feet and looked back at the special forces entering the lab.

Seeing them raise their rifles, she surrendered after a brief moment of hesitation.

She knew that struggling when the entrance was already sealed would only result in meaningless deaths.

And having succeeded in saving Daniel, Lucy no longer had anything left to regret.

Thanks to that, the special forces quickly secured her, but not one of them dared to lay a hand on her or speak with disrespect.

For even if their relationship was built on lies, Lucy was still—at least on paper—the adopted daughter of Count Khaledra.

As the special forces politely bound Lucy, the Allied forces succeeded in pushing the Imperial troops out of the city and, in the span of a single night, took control of Fenbark.

This marked the first defeat of Daniel Steiner—

And a victory for the Allied Nations.

****

The next morning, Fenbark.

A mansion owned by House Khaledra.

— My lady. I am Namerias, your assigned maid. May I come in?

Lucy, leaning against the headboard inside the bedroom, gave no reply.

Annoyed by the silence, Namerias knocked again.

— My lady! Count Khaledra wishes to see you today! He asked to meet you at noon, so we must begin preparing now!

Still, Lucy said nothing.

Convinced that this could not continue, Namerias opened the door and stepped inside.

What she saw was Lucy staring blankly ahead, her eyes devoid of focus.

It was hardly different from the expression she wore yesterday when she’d been dragged here by the special forces.

“I felt the same when I was ordered to bathe her by Count Khaledra...”

She couldn’t begin to guess what Lucy was thinking.

“She looks... somehow sad.”

She felt a twinge of sympathy, but knew that clumsy consolation would do more harm than good.

Deciding there was no need to meddle further, Namerias picked up the clothing basket and approached Lucy.

“My lady. May I help you change? If you could just stand before the full-length mirror, I’ll take care of the rest.”

Namerias kept her tone as cheerful as possible, but Lucy didn’t so much as acknowledge her.

Even so, perhaps deciding «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» she couldn’t ignore her forever, Lucy slowly got out of bed.

She walked to the mirror just as Namerias had asked and came to a stop.

Within the reflection, the amber necklace around her neck quietly asserted its presence.

Watching Lucy for a moment, Namerias cleared her throat and stepped behind her.

Setting down the basket, she began to chat lightly to ease the mood.

“This might be a strange thing to say the first time we meet, but... my lady, you are absolutely stunning. Of everyone I’ve ever seen, you have the most graceful features. Have you heard that a lot?”

Lucy started to reply, then stopped.

She couldn’t bring herself to utter the name “Daniel” here.

That struck Namerias as a bit odd, but she didn’t pry.

Picking up a comb, she gently arranged Lucy’s hair, then began to remove her nightgown with slow, practiced hands.

Next, she dressed her in a white blouse and matching skirt, then brought over a small stool and placed it at Lucy’s feet.

“Would you please sit down? I’d like to help you with your stockings and shoes.”

Lucy gave a slight nod and sat. Smiling, Namerias took out a pair of silk stockings.

Aligning them carefully with Lucy’s toes, she began to draw the silk slowly upward.

The soft fabric slid smoothly over her skin, covering all the way to her thighs.

Ensuring no wrinkles had formed, Namerias gently smoothed out the material, then helped her into a pair of shoes.

Once Lucy rose to her feet and faced the mirror, a refined young noblewoman stood in her place.

By any standard, she now radiated the dignity befitting the daughter of a noble house.

“She’s so naturally beautiful—anything suits her.”

Pleased with the result, Namerias impulsively opened a jewelry case she had brought in the basket.

“This might sting a little.”

Taking out a pair of earrings, she gently held Lucy’s earlobe and inserted the pins.

They dangled lightly once she let go. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

“Good. All that’s left is the necklace.”

Just as she reached to unfasten the crude necklace around Lucy’s neck—

“Ah!?”

Lucy instinctively grabbed her wrist.

Startled by Lucy’s reaction, Namerias froze in place. For the first time, Lucy spoke.

“Don’t touch it.”

There was something in her voice that carried a faint, lethal edge—and Namerias broke into a cold sweat.

Seeing her reaction in the mirror, Lucy recoiled in alarm and let go.

“I’m sorry...”

Namerias looked down at her wrist.

The grip had been so strong that a vivid red imprint was already rising on her skin.

It stung enough to bring tears to her eyes, but realizing that Lucy hadn’t meant her harm, she accepted the apology.

“It’s all right. It was my fault for trying to change your necklace without asking. Still... judging by how strongly you reacted, that necklace must be very precious to you?”

At the question, Lucy lifted a hand and gently touched the necklace.

The craftsmanship wasn’t particularly refined, and the design was nothing to speak of.

It was the kind of necklace one could buy easily at any common jeweler.

That was the extent of its material value.

And yet, even if someone were to offer her a trove of rare and expensive jewelry, Lucy would never exchange it for the one she wore now.

“Yeah...”

Through this necklace, she could relive her memories of Daniel.

As she recalled the moment when he’d given it to her, a faint smile touched Lucy’s lips.

“It was my first birthday present.”

Watching Lucy’s reflection in the mirror, Namerias instinctively grew solemn.

She couldn’t say why, but the smile on Lucy’s face was laced with sorrow.

****

Meanwhile, the Imperial brigade, having been driven to the outskirts of the city, had descended into extreme confusion.

“We’ve succeeded in retreating, but the casualties are not insignificant! Total casualties number 713, of whom 320 are confirmed dead! Including those missing or taken prisoner, we’ve effectively lost nearly 20% of our fighting force!”

At the personnel officer’s report, everyone inside the command tent fell into heavy silence.

With defeat hanging thick in the air, the operations officer—who was also doubling as acting brigade commander—let out a sigh.

“It couldn’t be helped. Who could have predicted the Allied forces would use Etherlium to launch a direct assault? And on top of that, we had to fight without the brigade commander.”

Given the overwhelmingly unfavorable conditions, losing only 20% of their forces in the retreat wasn’t the worst outcome.

And yet, the mood inside the command tent was as grim as if the entire brigade had been shattered.

The reason was simple.

There was no sign of their missing brigade commander returning.

More than the defeat itself, what weighed on them most was the loss of Daniel Steiner.

So much so that none of them had been able to bring themselves to report Daniel Steiner’s status as missing to headquarters.

“...So the brigade commander was captured by the enemy, then?”

It was Phelp, the intelligence officer, who spoke.

No one wanted to admit it, but with no word from Daniel Steiner since the collapse, the most likely explanation was that he had been taken by the enemy.

“Then what are we supposed to do? We can’t keep fighting without the brigade commander.”

The operations officer clenched his jaw and exhaled low.

“The search is ongoing. If the gods have any mercy, they’ll be on our side. But if the brigade commander truly has been discovered and killed by the enemy, or taken prisoner...”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“Then we retreat to the bridge and await orders from headquarters.”

“...So we’re abandoning Fenbark?”

“I don’t know. From what I hear, it was the brigade commander who insisted on taking Fenbark in the first place—so the operation might well be called off.”

The thought of returning to the capital having lost both men and ground cast a shadow over the staff officers' faces.

Phelp, the intelligence officer, was no exception.

“If the brigade commander were here, no one would be talking like a bunch of defeated men...”

The absence of Daniel Steiner had never felt heavier.

Just then—

“Urgent dispatch!”

A sergeant burst into the command tent.

He saluted the assembled staff at the strategy table and spoke quickly.

“The brigade commander has been found in a clearing within the nearby forest and is on his way here now!”

Silence fell over the command tent.

Phelp was the first to respond.

“Is that true!?”

The sergeant nodded.

“Yes, sir! The brigade commander instructed that all staff remain at the command tent and await his arrival!”

If it were true that Daniel had survived, then there was no reason not to obey.

The staff, hope returning to their faces, followed the order and waited inside the command tent.

About an hour later, the sound of boots crunching outside reached their ears.

And then, into the command tent stepped Daniel Steiner—his uniform torn in several places.

He had bandages wrapped around one arm, an unfamiliar sight, but there was no doubt that it was him.

The staff rose to their feet at once and greeted him with respect, yet none could bring themselves to say “Welcome back.”

There was something about him—something more feral in his expression than usual.

“Since everyone is here, I’ll be brief.”

His cold voice descended upon the command tent like frost.

“We are not abandoning Fenbark. The ones who will give it up... will be the Allied Nations.”

Daniel Steiner walked to the head of the strategy table.

As the operations officer yielded the spot, Daniel took his natural place at its head.

His fingers trembled faintly atop the table.

“So contact Central Command. Tell them that even though we’ve lost Fenbark, the operation need not be aborted. Because I...”

Struggling to suppress his rage, Daniel recalled the final image of Lucy.

“...will show Count Khaledra what real war looks like.”